Echos
by beegene
Summary: Ghost Hunt Zombie Apocalypse AU
1. Chapter 1

"Hey, 'Dokes," Ayako laughed easily, peering over her coworker's head at her computer screen. "Whatcha up to?"

Madoka laughed, "How many times have I asked you not to call me that?"

Ayako shrugged, noting that Madoka did not sound upset in the least.

"I'm doing my job, Ayako," Madoka rolled her eyes, but her voice remained good-natured. "Maybe you should try doing the same!"

Laughing, Ayako leaned forward onto Madoka's desk and cradled her head in her hands. She could not help but admire how pretty Madoka was, even with her hair tied back messily and bags under her eyes.

Madoka raised her eyebrows at the woman examining her.

"Is something the matter? I didn't get much sleep so…"

"Madoka," Ayako cut her off. "Would you come with me to grab coffee after work?"

Ayako's question took Madoka by surprise. The woman, who usually could never stop talking, was at a loss for words.

"Look," Ayako stood up taller, bravely meeting Madoka's surprised gaze. "I know you like me."

Madoka laughed again, trying hard to hide her nerves, "I'd love to." Then amended, "As long as you'll let me go home and change first. I really hate being in scrubs outside of work."

Ayako and Madoka were nurses at Shibuya hospital. Both women were working on their doctorates through a medical work program. Ayako's goal was to work in radiology, while Madoka was studying to be able to perform neurosurgery.

"Okay, you want me to pick you up at yours after work then?"

Madoka smiled brightly and Ayako thought her heart might just melt.

"It's a date."

X~X~X

Ayako drummed her fingers nervously against her car's steering wheel. Cars and brake lights as far as she could see. Of course she was stuck in traffic! On her way to pick a cute girl up for coffee and she's stuck in traffic.

The air conditioner was on full blast, blowing cold air in Ayako's face, drying the patches of sweaty skin beneath her hairline and on her upper lip. The summer sun was beating down on the cars, sitting completely still on the highway.

Defeated and tired of listening to horns honking and shouting, she turned the car radio to the local news station, hoping to catch a traffic update. What she heard was not quite what she had expected.

" _...This is not a joke. The fights breaking out around the city seem to be between people who have lost all common sense. As far as sources can tell, the city is being attacked by zombies. You heard that right. I repeat: This is not a joke. Stay inside, lock your doors, and await further instruction."_

Ayako shook her head, laughing incredulously. As a nurse, she knew that traditional zombies were a medical impossibility. If people truly were 'undead' they could not last longer than a few days before decaying beyond the ability to move.

A loud chime sound came from the car speakers and the live news-caster voice was replaced with a carefully recorded message.

" _BREAKING NEWS ALERT! The city is being overrun by abnormal individuals, being described as zombies. So far, more than a hundred lives have been claimed by this unknown force. Please, stay inside, lock your doors and await further instruction."_

Ayako struggled to comprehend what she was hearing. This had to be a joke, like, when War of the Worlds aired and caused mass hysteria! This has to be something like that. She changed the station on the radio in search of some shitty pop music.

" _BREAKING NEWS ALERT! The city is being overrun by abnormal individuals, being described as zombies. So far, more than a hundred lives have been claimed by this unknown force. Please, stay inside, lock your doors and await further instruction."_

The message was looped again and Ayako's resolve faded. According to her GPS, she was at the highway exit for Madoka's house. She was trying her best not to panic. Though, she was not sure if she was more alarmed by radio message or the fact that she was two minutes away from a hot girl's house.

Ayako was, in that moment, a hopelessly jittery lesbian in the midst of a supposed zombie invasion.

Blessing all surrounding cars with her middle finger, she maneuvered her car into the exit only lane and managed to fall in line with the traffic trying to get off of the highway. Once she made it onto the access road, she noticed a surprising lack of traffic near the residential areas. It seemed as though everyone was trying to get out of town.

Following her GPS, Ayako turned into Madoka's neighborhood and, finally, to her street. There were a few cars still in driveways and parked in the street, but Ayako saw no one outside or driving. She considered for a moment whether Madoka had already begun evacuating.

Was Madoka the type to ditch a date for the end of the world?

"Oh _fuck!_ " Ayako slammed her brakes, narrowly avoiding hitting a young woman with her car.

The girl appeared normal at first, but Ayako noticed that she did not react at all to almost being hit by a car. She was walking in the middle of the road with no consideration for passing traffic.

It was lucky that Ayako had not been going very fast or she would have hit the girl head-on.

Just as she was about to honk at the girl in frustration, Ayako noticed something strange about the girl's face as she passed. The girl's cheeks were ashen and pale, and even at a distance, Ayako could see blue and purple veins just beneath the surface of her skin.

As Ayako continued down the street as the GPS directed her, she suddenly felt guilty for just passing by the strange girl. What if she had been sick? She looked like she belonged in a hospital bed and not on the streets.

Ayako steeled as she realized. Could that girl have been…?

 _ **The destination is on your right.**_

"Ah!" Ayako pressed hard on the brake, stopping in front of Madoka's house. It was an unassuming building, with an external appearance resembling a cottage. Charming and quaint, it was a relief in comparison to the many cookie cutter houses that filled the subdivisions surrounding the area.

She was shaking like a leaf as she gathered her purse and prepared to get out of the car. On the off chance that this zombie thing was not some elaborate hoax, she was not certain she could safely make it to the door.

"Shit," she cursed, as her shaking hands dropped her keys onto the floor of her car.

She reached down to retrieve them, and when she sat back up she jumped, startled by a face looking at her through the passenger side window.

"Ayako!" Madoka knocked on the glass, her voice was muffled. "You need to come inside!"

Ayako stuffed her keys into her purse and opened the door.

"What is going on?" She nearly ran to Madoka's side once out of the car. "It's like everyone has gone crazy!"

"Didn't you hear the emergency broadcast?"

"Yeah but…" Ayako shook her head in disbelief. "That can't be true, can it? Zombies?"

Madoka began pulling Ayako by the arm toward her front door.

"It seems to be true!"

"But zombies," Ayako pulled her arm away from Madoka's tight grasp before she could get a bruise. "Are a medical impossibility."

Shaking her head, Madoka opened the door to her home and gently pushed Ayako inside. She shut the door behind her and locked the deadbolt.

"In the traditional sense they are," She crossed her arms and leaned back against the door. Ayako blushed, noticing that she was wearing a cute sweater and short pencil skirt. She had dressed for their date after all. "But it could be a drug or virus causing zombie-like behavior…"

"So," Ayako huffed. "Suppose this isn't a hoax, what are we supposed to do?"

Madoka smirked raised an eyebrow, saying nothing as she looked Ayako up and down.

It only took Ayako a moment to get what was being left unsaid.

"Oh!" Ayako blushed profusely at the apparent insinuation. "I don't know I…"

Madoka laughed, "I'm joking, calm down." She pushed past Ayako and into the sitting room. "At the very least, I think we'll have to have our first date in."

Ayako discreetly tried to pat the red from her cheeks as she followed Madoka to the couch. Madoka laughed again, as she sat down and motioned for Ayako to join her. She wordlessly turned on the TV. While Madoka fiddled with the remote Ayako took the opportunity to examine the interior of the house. It was cute how Madoka matched her house, although not an unusual phenomena, Ayako could appreciate that she was now surrounded by things that suited her crush to a tee.

"That's weird…" Madoka scrunched her eyebrows in confusion at the TV. "It must be out."

"Maybe the zombies did it!"

Madoka did not laugh.

"I don't think that's funny."

"Oh, sorry… I just" Ayako shook her head. "There's no way! Right?"

"I don't know why we shouldn't believe it at this point. And even if it's not true… The mass hysteria will be a disaster in itself."

Ayako thought about the highway traffic and seemingly abandoned homes she had seen on the way over. Her mind settled on the sick girl she'd seen in the street.

"Oh my god."

Madoka looked startled by Ayako's suddenly fallen face.

"What is it?"

"On my way over," Ayako felt like she was going to be sick. "I think I might have seen one."

"A zombie?"

Ayako nodded slowly. That would explain why the girl had not reacted to almost being hit by a car, why she had looked sickly.

"It was a girl," Ayako explained. "She had to be about sixteen… No more than eighteen."

Madoka seemed to be overcome by the sudden reality of the situation and lunged forward to pull Ayako into a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry," she squeezed Ayako's arm gently. "That's terrible."

"This can't be real," Ayako whimpered, pressing her face into Madoka's shoulder. "I can't believe this."

"It's alright." Madoka took the opportunity to place a gentle kiss on Ayako's temple. "We can stay here until help comes. I just bought groceries yesterday!"

Ayako pulled away and examined Madoka. She was not entirely convinced of this plan.

"And," Madoka attempted to joke, "I still don't think this is the worst first date I've been on."

"Oh my god, 'Dokes," Ayako let out a gasping breath. "You're terrible."

Madoka shrugged. The overhead light in the living room gave her hair a soft glow, almost like a crown.

"And since the world may or may not be ending soon, I really want to kiss you."

Madoka shrugged again.

Seeing no protest, Ayako leaned in closer. Madoka quickly responded, closing the remaining distance between them. Ayako's stomach bubbled with excitement of kissing her long-time crush. The kiss made her want to ignore everything that seemed to be going on in the world. If she could just kiss Madoka forever…

"Do you really think we can stay here until help comes?" Ayako asked, gently pulling away and suddenly feeling worry wash away the joy of kissing Madoka for the first time.

"I have enough food to last a month or more if we ration. And I have some boards in the shed we could reinforce the doors."

"This is crazy."

"You are more than welcome to go somewhere else if you think you'll have a better chance."

Ayako shook her head, considering.

"The traffic is terrible, and if this virus — or whatever it is — is contagious it's probably best not to be around large crowds, right?"

"Right."

"So just the two of us, then?"

"I think we'll make a good team, Ayako." Madoka smiled, making Ayako's poor heart do a flip.

"Let's get the doors secured, then!" Ayako stood up. "We can do this." Though, that last statement was more a reassurance to herself than anything else.

Together, the two women set to work getting the wood planks from Madoka's garden shed and taking them inside. They gathered nails and hammers and, as an afterthought they decided to bring in all of Madoka's gardening tools as well. This was just in case they needed to defend themselves.

Ayako supposed she could take someone down with a shovel or a spade if she had to.

As they brought the last of the things in, Madoka paused, staring down at her flower beds. They were filled with perfect clusters of multi-colored flowers. Ayako could tell how well the plants were cared for at a glance.

"I'll hate to watch them die."

Ayako rested a hand on Madoka's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"Maybe they won't, maybe it will rain."

"Maybe."

X~X~X

Days passed and time slowed to a frustratingly creeping pace. The two women filled some of their time talking and laughing, pretending they were young and in love and full of hope for a future. Some of that was true. They very much wanted that reality.

They had pushed Madoka's bed to the living room so that they could better keep watch at night and they slept often in shifts.

Though they did not see any of the sick people for long periods of time, and Ayako was guilty of watching Madoka sleep more often than she was keeping watch, there were enough sightings to scare them. They also were afraid of missing out on potential rescuers by not paying attention.

Ayako refused to call the infected people zombies. Instead, she called them 'sick' or 'infected'. She reasoned that sickness could be cured, zombies were already dead.

All the time spent with Madoka made her want desperately for the world to be cured.

On the third week of being locked in Madoka's house, their electricity finally went out.

"Honestly," Ayako said. "I'm surprised it lasted that long."

She hated to think of the people who had been running the electrical plant. Had they been sacrificing themselves to keep the power on? Had they been overrun in the end?

Ayako shuddered, and decided not to think on it any longer.

Madoka stood in the dark kitchen, surveying the contents of the open fridge. It had been early morning when the electricity went out, and Madoka was still dressed in her pink pajama bottoms and lacy white bra. Ayako knew that she should focus on the electricity crisis at hand, but she could not keep herself from admiring how pretty Madoka's smooth shoulders were.

"We'll have to eat all of this in the next day or so," Madoka placed her hands on her hips as she studied the remaining perishable foods. "But it's not much, anyways."

Ayako could tell that Madoka was worried about running out of food. Almost a month had passed without any sign of help.

"Do you really think anyone will come?"

Madoka's jaw quivered as she attempted a care-free grin.

"Of course."

"And what if they don't?"

Madoka shut the fridge door, with more force than strictly necessary.

Ayako watched as Madoka left the kitchen and went to sit in front of the front window. She had closed the blinds so that no one could see in, but left them just open enough to allow her to see outside. Silently, the woman watched the street before her, hoping for some sign of life.

"Madoka," Ayako frowned. "I'm just being realistic."

Tears spilled onto Madoka's cheeks, but she made no effort to wipe them.

"I know."

X~X~X

Despite her skepticism, Ayako did her best to help their situation. She had the idea to put a sign in the front window, so that if people came by, they would know to look for living people.

The sign read:

HELP

WE ARE ALIVE

She almost put something about how they were low on rations, but thought better of it. It was likely that a group in this situation would decide to pass them by if they knew they were useless.

Before hanging the sign, she added:

WE ARE DOCTORS

This made her feel as though she was filling out some sort of strange application. An appeal for some person, group, or force to grant her a chance at survival.

Ayako traced the letters with a finger as she thought about the chances of someone seeing her pathetic sign.

WE

She thought: Maybe a group of kind people will find them.

ARE

She thought: Maybe Madoka is right.

ALIVE

She thought: At least I am alive.

X~X~X

One month and eight days after what Madoka and Ayako now referred to as 'The Worst First Date of All Time', they ran out of food.

They also stopped sleeping in shifts.

Ayako reasoned that they were going to die of starvation anyways, so they might as well spend their last days with someone to sleep next to.

The women tried very hard to ignore the fact that they were sleeping on the living room floor surrounded by gardening tools and empty bottles of water.

This was where they awoke, just before dawn, to the sound of someone banging on the door.

At first, they thought that it had to be one of the infected, but then they heard a voice.

"Hey!" A man called. "Are you still alive in there? I can break down the door if I have to!"

Panic and excitement flooded through Ayako as she jumped up from the floor.

"Yes!" She almost felt like jumping up and down for joy, and her voice was the loudest it had probably ever been as she called back. "We're here!"

Despite everything, she heard the man laugh.

"Then open up!" He said, laughter bubbling from his throat.

Ayako and Madoka quickly dressed and set to work pulling nails from the boarded up door.

"We have the door nailed shut, but we can get it open!"

Ayako heard the man say something to someone else before calling back.

"Okay, no rush!"

Madoka nearly squealed, "He's with a group!"

As they prepared to pull the last plank off of the door, Madoka paused and pressed a kiss to Ayako's cheek.

"What was that for?"

"I told you so."

When they finally opened the door, Ayako and Madoka were greeted by a small group of strangers.

A tall man, who they presumed was the voice they had heard at the door, stepped forward to introduce himself.

"I'm Captain Houshou Takigawa," he said, smiling. "But you can call me Monk."

"Captain?" Ayako raised an eyebrow. "You're a seaman?"

"Firefighter."

"Ah."

Monk wore a charming lopsided grin on his face, despite the fact that his green flannel was stained with blood. He had a rifle slung over his shoulder, and for some reason he was wearing a turquoise bolo tie.

"Good luck," he said.

Ayako frowned.

"Excuse me?"

"The bolo tie, I wear it for luck."

"Oh."

From the group, a slightly shorter and more slender man stepped forward, interrupting Monk before he could continue speaking about his bolo tie.

"I'm Oliver Davis," he said. "And I would love to continue the introduction circle from a safer location." Without another word, he turned away and the rest of the group followed.

* * *

hi wow I've been gone from the face of the earth for 200 years

I've debated for a long time over whether or not to post this but, like, i gotta at this point.

mind if i share some life updates, though? because? I got a new grown up job in a new city and I'm a whole adult! also, my brother was finally adopted the other day, so I have three whole brothers now! he is precious and I love him.

anYways, please review this fic please I worked vv hard on thanKs

Bee


	2. Chapter 2

Once over the initial shock of being rescued, Ayako was stricken by the motley of the group that had rescued her and Madoka.

Besides Monk and Oliver, there was with them a young man in glasses who appeared to be wearing a women's button-down shirt, two brave-faced petite women, and an elderly man who seemed to be doing his best to keep up with the others.

One of the young women, the one with brown hair and a wry grin, was quick to greet the newcomers.

"I'm Mai Taniyama," She smiled far too brightly. "And you are?"

"Uh," Ayako nervously scratched her arm. "Ayako Matsuzaki."

"I'm Madoka Mori," Madoka smiled even brighter than the girl had. "I can't tell you how happy we are to see a new face."

Ayako scoffed.

"Not that I hate her face…"

"Sign said you were doctors," Monk called back at them over his shoulder. "That true?"

"We're nurses," Ayako laughed nervously, hoping they would not be too upset at her lie. "But more than halfway through getting doctorates so…"

Madoka laughed, "She was afraid that if she put 'nurses' you wouldn't rescue us."

"We would have rescued you no matter what," the man in the glasses spoke up. "We've been trying to find people for weeks."

Ayako was shocked.

"Weeks?"

"Yup, everyone either got out or got infected," the man shook his head sadly. "I'm Yasuhara, by the way."

"I see." Ayako studied the man and his ill-fitting orange shirt. Was that lace?

"I lost my shirt to a rescue operation," Yasuhara explained. "Had to dress a wound. Luckily, Mai had an extra."

"Why didn't you just use the extra shirt to dress the wound?"

"I didn't think that far ahead. Masako's arm was bleeding badly."

The other young woman turned. Ayako noticed a bloodied rag tied around her left arm and realized that she must be the 'rescue operation' in question.

"I'm Masako Hara." Unlike her friends, Masako did not force a smile. "It's nice to meet you."

Ayako nodded before turning once again to Yasuhara.

"Do you have medical experience?"

"Nope," he laughed somewhat awkwardly. "I'm in law school."

"Masako?"

"Yes?"

"Let Madoka and I have a look at your arm when we get the chance, alright?"

Masako nodded.

"Might be prudent to have a look at all of us," the elderly dark-skinned man spoke up from behind them.

Madoka gave the man a gentle smile.

"How are you holding up, sir?"

"Oh, I'll survive," he chuckled kindly. "Name's Jean Vianney. I used to be a magician."

"A magician?" Madoka giggled. "You'll have to show me a trick sometime."

He winked.

"We'll see."

"Monk," Oliver stopped ahead of the group and put his arms out to his sides. "Do you hear that?"

Monk shook his head slowly.

"Everyone," He turned to face the group behind him. "Keep quiet. We may have a group of Echos up ahead."

"Echos?" Madoka questioned in a whisper.

"Yasuhara came up with it," Mai explained graciously. "Because Oliver hated calling them 'zombies'. It's because the infected are merely echos of their past selves."

"Poetic. I like it."

"That and they're very responsive to sound. We think the infection makes them blind, but their sense of hearing can compensate."

It had been some time since the group had left Madoka's neighborhood and they were now in a more metropolitan area with a few small shopping centres and restaurants. So far, Ayako was surprised that they had not yet seen any people that were infected.

Not that she was complaining.

"Yasuhara, Masako, you hang back with Vianney and the newbies," Monk instructed. "Mai, Oliver and I are going to see if any of these stores are worth getting supplies from."

Without her consent, Ayako's hand shot up.

"I could go with you, so the numbers are even."

Monk looked Ayako up and down.

"Are you sure you're ready for that? Where we're going might be dangerous."

Ayako shrugged coolly, though her legs were shaking beneath her.

"Isn't everywhere dangerous?"

Oliver cut in, "If she wants to go, I'm not stopping her. Come on."

"She doesn't have anything to use as a weapon!" Mai protested. "She could just stay…"

"Here." From his pack, Oliver produced a large pocket knife. "That will do for now. When we get back to camp, we'll get you and your friend something better."

Ayako took the knife and put on the bravest face she could muster before she met Madoka's gaze.

"I'll see you soon, 'Dokes."

Madoka looked frightened, but said nothing. Slowly, she brought a hand to her face and tapped her nose before laying her palm flat. It looked as though she was blowing a kiss without actually puckering her lips.

"Let's go." Monk began marching forward.

Ayako turned to follow and did not look back.

X~X~X

Ayako followed closely behind Mai and the others, towards the deserted suburban shopping center. She immediately admired Mai's bravery. The girl was obviously sweet and kind, but she was unflinching on her way to a dangerous situation.

Mai nudged Ayako's arm with her own to get her attention.

"You alright?"

Ayako nodded slowly.

"How are you so calm?"

The girl laughed, "I'm an excellent shot." She turned to showcase the bow and sheath of arrows slung across her back.

"No kidding," Ayako scoffed. "That's so cliché."

"Well, when people raid sporting goods stores, they leave these behind and Masako happened to know enough about the technique to teach me. We've had plenty of time to practice."

"I see."

"How long were you in that house?"

"Oh," Ayako's mind reeled, surprised by the question and trying to think of the exact numbers. "I was on my way there when they started playing the emergency broadcast. So it's been -"

"Wait," Mai interrupted. "You were there the whole time?"

Ayako nodded.

"So this is your first time out and you still volunteered to clear the shopping center?"

"If I didn't, I knew Madoka would," Ayako explained. "And I'd rather something happened to me than to her."

"You're good friends?" Mai smiled, good-naturedly.

"Um." Ayako laughed. "We were supposed to go on our first date the day people started getting infected so…"

"Mai!" Oliver shouted, saving Ayako from having to explain herself further. "There's an Echo up by that shop entrance, think you could get it from here?"

Mai giggled as she unsheathed an arrow. Ayako had to admit, she looked quite natural doing it.

The girl pulled the string taut as she aimed. Her breathing slowed and she was totally focused.

There was an unnatural, garbled noise as Mai's arrow took the Echo down. Ayako was amazed that Mai was actually successful at such a long range.

"You can stop ogling, Ayako," Mai beamed with pride. "I told you, I'm an excellent shot."

"Brilliant job, Mai," Oliver complimented.

Monk reached out to ruffle her hair.

"That's my girl!"

As they approached the first store, Oliver told them to keep quiet and listen for movement. According to him, most Echos were prone to hide during the day, which made it harder for them to tell how safe a place was until they were already in a vulnerable position.

Oliver directed the group to stay in a single-file line as they entered the first store. It was a small, artsy cafe. At best, they would find some food that they could take back. At worst, the place could have already been cleaned out by other survivors.

The door was still locked, which seemed to be a good sign. Monk used the back end of his rifle to break the glass door.

"Oh _god._ "

The smell was awful. As a nurse, Ayako was not squeamish in the slightest, but even she felt ill.

"I suppose the refrigeration failed…" Mai covered her nose with the collar of her shirt.

Monk cringed.

"No kidding."

The cafe was filled with the smell of rotting milk. There was a refrigerated display by the front counter that showcased a large selection of mold-covered pastries and maggot-ridden fruits.

"I don't reckon this bitch is up to code," Monk joked. "What do you think, Mai?"

Mai coughed, "I think I'd like to have a word with management."

"Well," Oliver pointed towards a back room behind the shop counter. "I think that can be arranged."

The three others turned to look where Oliver had indicated.

Monk paled.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

Ayako had never seen something so terrible, but she could not look away. In the center of what seemed to be a small manager's office, there was a woman tied to a rolling office chair with wires that must have been ripped from the backs of appliances. Her jaw hung open, limp, like the muscles responsible for holding it closed had been completely severed.

She was so covered in bruises that her skin was more a marble of green and blue than any natural color. The wheels of the rolling office chair were caked in blood from a puddle on the floor.

Ayako studied the woman's face, it was bruised and swollen like the rest of her body. Her eyes were bloodshot and red. Ayako watched the woman blink.

"This isn't right," Ayako suddenly became aware of her whole body shaking from fear. "Who did this to her?"

Slowly and with much effort, the woman in the office chair raised her head. The bottom half of her jaw swung towards Ayako before the rest of her head followed. The top of the woman's mouth turned upwards into a twisted grin.

Without hesitation, Monk lifted his rifle and shot the woman in the head. A strangled gasp erupted from somewhere between her chest and throat as her body went limp and she fell back into the office chair.

For the rest of the time the group was inside the cafe, they said nothing. Whatever food was still good - mostly dry flour and coffee grounds - they set outside the front door. None of them had any desire to re-enter the cafe once they were finished clearing the shopping center.

When they were finally making their way next door, Mai managed to ask aloud the question that was weighing on everyone's minds.

"Who would do that to her?"

Oliver grimaced.

"Looters."

"But," Monk shook his head, obviously not satisfied with that explanation. "Everything was there, untouched. You don't think she did that to herself, do you?"

"What do we have to gain by trying to explain what happened to her?"

No one wanted to argue with Oliver, so the subject was dropped. The woman would have to be forgotten and the survivors would have to keep moving forward.

X~X~X

The rest of the stores were seemingly untouched by human life, infected or otherwise. Luckily, the cafe was an outlier and not the beginning of a terrible pattern. Granted, most of the stores sold clothing and trinkets, and not worth scouting out. Monk did run into a store to take a new shirt for Yasuhara. A deed which the entire group would thank him for later.

They managed to clear the rest of the shopping center in record time. They had only one store left and all of them hoped that it was as untouched as the rest of the units had been.

The last store was a large camping and sporting goods outlet, and was the real reason Oliver had wanted to scout here. It was unlikely that the store had not been looted, but it was still worth going in, even if for just a few supplies.

As they had expected, the glass storefront had already been shattered. However, the stock looked to be mostly intact. Ayako could not decide whether or not this was a good sign. Had survivors been here to loot and seen something that frightened them away?

She did not realize how closely she had been following behind Monk until she bumped into him as he stopped.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"You alright, princess? You look pale."

Ayako rolled her eyes.

"I'm just peachy."

"Monk, Ayako!" Oliver waved them over. "Come look at this."

Oliver was standing in the doorway that led to the store's dressing rooms. Inside, it appeared that there had been set up a makeshift shelter. Each fitting room held a small cot and a sleeping bag.

Mai studied the empty cots with wide eyes.

"But where did they all go?"

Ayako chuckled despite herself. Again, Mai was asking the obvious question.

Ignoring the question, Monk turned to Oliver.

"I think we should go get the others. The place looks safe enough and it's getting late. I don't want to be split up when it starts getting dark."

Mai was quick to answer in Oliver's place.

"But we haven't finished checking! What if what ran them out of here gets us too?"

"Mai," Oliver rested a quieting hand on her shoulder. "I think Monk's right. This place has the supplies we need. Enough to risk rushing checks."

"And this would be the perfect place for Madoka and I to get a look at everyone," Ayako offered. "I'll bet they have first aid supplies here."

"Right," Oliver nodded. "Let's get back to Yasuhara and the others."

X~X~X

Ayako was relieved to see that the other half of the group was still waiting just where they had left them. Madoka sat on a curb, chatting pleasantly with Yasuhara and Vianney while Masako lay, resting her head in Yasuhara's lap.

As they approached, Monk wordlessly tossed Yasuhara the new shirt.

"Hey look," Yasuhara laughed. "It's the best fashion choice Monk has ever made!"

Monk gave him a dirty look.

"Dude, you're wearing _a bolo tie._ Don't look at me like that."

Masako clumsily pushed hair out of her face as she sat up.

"Thank god. That shirt barely looked good on Mai, let alone Yasuhara."

Yasuhara laughed, "Would you rather I go without a shirt?"

"That is _not_ what I said."

"Did you see anything worth your trouble, Noll?" Vianney asked, reaching out a hand for Oliver to help him stand.

"There's a big camping outlet on the far side of the center, it looks like there's been a camp there before but we didn't see anyone."

Yasuhara looked surprised.

"A camp?"

"Cots set up in the fitting rooms," Oliver explained. "Enough for a group of at least twenty."

"And you didn't see anyone?"

Oliver shook his head.

"No Echos either. The place was totally deserted."

Yasuhara knitted his brows as he considered this information.

"I don't know how much I trust that."

"Monk and I agreed," Oliver put his hands on his hips, daring Yasuhara to disagree with him. "We're going to take this good thing without questioning it too much. Just keep your guard up on the way."

"Right." Yasuhara knew better than to argue with Oliver. "Let's go."

Ayako quickly fell in step with Madoka as they followed the others back to the sporting goods store. She jumped in surprise as Madoka sheepishly took her hand.

"Are you alright?"

Ayako smiled. Madoka's voice had an almost supernatural calming effect over her.

"I'll spare you the details," Ayako sighed. "But we saw some pretty grim sights."

Madoka squeezed Ayako's hand.

"It's going to be okay."

* * *

 _ **god guys I wholeass forgot about all the bullshit in the cafe and I aPOLOGIZe**_

 _ **but listen is for good plot reasons k thanks**_

 _ **please rate/review! thank you to my betas (Hannah, Toa, and Kel) and all of the people who have reviewed so far! Circe, your comments always brighten my day!**_

 _ **Bee**_


	3. Chapter 3

The camping goods store was, thankfully, just as empty as the group had left it. Once inside, Oliver told Ayako, Madoka, and Vianney to get the sleeping-quarters ready while the rest of them checked the building to make sure it was really safe.

Ayako was glad for the mundane task. As she walked Madoka and Vianney to the fitting rooms, she noticed that she had taken to following along a wall. She supposed that this made her feel more safe, but it was strange how she had started doing it without thinking about it.

"This is really strange," Madoka stopped at the fitting room doorway, furrowing her brow at the rows of empty cots. "Why would people just up and leave this place?"

"Maybe they wanted a change of scenery," Vianney chuckled. "I've never been one for shopping, myself."

Ayako shook her head, not wanting to think about what could have driven the people away.

"Wait, Ayako," Madoka bent over to pick something up off the ground. "Look at this."

She held up an orange bottle of pills and shook it. It still had medication inside.

"If anyone just left, I'm sure they would have taken these with them," she studied the label. "Antipsychotics."

"Oh god," Ayako took the bottle to look. "Yeah, I've heard these are pretty brutal to come off of. No one would just leave these if they weren't in a hurry."

"Or maybe they're coming back."

"Hey!" Yasuhara appeared in the doorway, panting. "We've got a situation."

Ayako gulped.

"What kind of situation?"

Yasuhara jerked his head back, directing them to follow him before turning and leading them out of the fitting rooms.

"Come on."

Waiting in the main lobby of the store was a large group of men and women in pristine clothes. They looked as though they had just been at an early morning worship service.

To be more accurate, they all looked like they were asked to speak at an early morning worship service.

A man in a tan suit jacket spoke up. He had a stern look on his face that seemed a mismatch for his clean pastoral getup.

"This all of you?" His voice had a hint of a European accent that Ayako could not quite place.

Oliver nodded. His arms were crossed in a way that made him look ten feet tall. Ayako wondered how much Oliver's confidence let him get away with.

The man scowled.

"I asked you a question."

"Yes. This is all of us."

"I must say," His stern look turned into an insincere grin. "I'm impressed you have lived this long alone. Small groups are not safe."

"Well." Oliver shrugged. "I like to think that we're a competent team."

The man laughed heartily. His tan skin was pulled so tightly around the mouth that it looked as if it were about to crack.

"Alright, smartass. Get your _competent team_ in a line so we can make note of all useful skills and belongings. I want your weapons with Candace." He pointed a thumb to a young woman standing to his right. "John?"

"Y-yes sir?" The young man on his left stood to attention.

"Interview our new brothers and sisters. I trust you can place them in the right jobs."

John nodded.

"Yes sir."

"I'm sorry," Oliver took a step towards the large group and their leader, puffing out his chest. "When did we agree to join you?"

"Son," The man was struggling to keep his smile in tact. "I don't reckon you have a choice."

"I would like to at least know who you are before I hand over my weapons," Oliver's voice was level and demanding.

"Reverend Sotelo," The man spat out. "Now give your weapons to Candace."

Oliver set his rifle and knife at Candace's feet and the rest of the group followed suit. Madoka stood behind awkwardly, as she had nothing to give up.

"Pinkie," Sotelo waved her over. "You gonna give it up?"

Ayako got the impression that he wanted her to 'give up' more than just her weapons.

"Leave her alone," she hissed. "She doesn't have any weapons."

"If John finds anything," Sotelo began.

"He won't," Madoka promised. "I don't have anything."

Sotelo shrugged and straightened his tan jacket.

"John," he directed. "They're all yours."

John, a slight young man with blonde hair and a genuine smile motioned for them to follow him. He lead the group to another aisle in the store so that he could talk to them in private.

"Alright," he smiled at Oliver. "If you would, tell me your name and any skills you have that would be useful to us."

"Oliver Davis," Oliver huffed. "And I'm not sure I know exactly what skills you're looking for."

John's smile did not falter.

"What did you do before this, Oliver?"

"Physics."

"So I'll wager you're good at solving problems, then?"

"Sure."

John nodded and moved on to the next person in line. Monk.

"Name?"

"Houshou Takigawa. Call me Monk."

John laughed, "Why are you called Monk?"

"Because I used to be one. Came down off the mountain and moved here to pursue a different kind of life."

"Fair. What do you do, Monk?"

"I was a firefighter. To pay the bills, that is. By night I served shit-hot bass licks."

The humor of Monk's syntax was lost on the innocent John.

"I was in a band," he claryfied. "Not that it matters."

Yasuhara chuckled, "Bet you have some strong hands, though. I love a man with strong hands."

John continued down the line like this, interviewing Yasuhara, then Mai, Masako, Madoka, and Vianney. Ayako learned that Yasuhara had been in his final year of law school and worked as a clerk for a local attorney. Mai and Masako were students as well, and were roommates. Mai was studying psychology and Masako was a commercial actress and was studying social sciences with a minor in theatre arts.

"So you're a nurse as well?" John asked, once he had finally gotten to Ayako.

Ayako nodded.

"I was in school for my doctorate. Radiology."

"You're comfortable with treating wounds?"

Ayako scoffed, "Of course."

"Alright," John smiled. "I think I have all I need."

"Wait!" Mai stopped him. "Can you at least tell us what's going on?"

Yasuhara jumped in, "Who is that Sotelo guy and why are you all dressed like you're in church?"

"Sotelo is a minister. God has smiled upon us as a group of survivors and has gifted us life under Sotelo's guidance."

"Dude," Monk blurted. "That sounds creepy as _hell_."

"I mean!" John stammered. "That's what he says! I don't…"

Oliver raised an eyebrow, the judgement in his gaze effectively stopping John mid-sentence.

"Do you really believe what he's doing is right?"

"I believe that he's helping people. No one is perfect, but I'm alive because of him."

"I don't trust him," Madoka stepped in. "The whole group gives me the creeps."

"I have to go." John straightened. Madoka had obviously hit a nerve. "Stay here."

"I can tell you're not like them, John," Mai whispered. "I trust you."

John's smile fell as he turned away and left them alone.

The group was silent while John was away. Mai's words hung in the air. Her sweet voice had been desperate. Something in Mai had sensed that John was their way out.

When John returned, he looked filled with a new confidence. Behind him was another man, wearing a dark leather jacket and a wicked grin.

"Ayako, Madoka, Monk, and Oliver come with me," John directed. "The rest of you go with Adam."

"Why are you splitting us up?" Oliver demanded. "Where are they going?"

John gave him a pained grin, "Those without useful skills cannot join us."

"I'm _sorry_?"

Ayako saw Mai reach out and grab Oliver's hand. Oliver looked startled for a moment but then wrapped his fingers tightly around hers.

"If I recall," Oliver spat. "We didn't want to join you in the first place."

"And as I recall," Adam crossed his arms. He towered over Oliver. "You don't have a choice."

"What are we gonna do?" Mai cried out. "Are you just going to throw us out?"

"Don't worry, Adam will give you some supplies." Maybe at some other time and in some other place, John would have been a comfort to them. Here he seemed like he was pushing his friendly nature away, his tone was more cold than it was calm.

"That's right," Adam laughed. "Supplies."

John turned and began walking. They had no choice but to follow, leaving Mai, Yasuhara, Masako, and Vianney behind with an intimidating stranger.

Sotelo was waiting to meet the new members of his group. John led them to a back storage room that had been converted into their leader's sleeping quarters. The shelves that once held extra stock of hiking boots and camping gear had been moved to form three walls around an air mattress. The shelves also blocked off an area where food was kept.

Sotelo was in full control of the group's rations.

"Sir," John lowered his head reverently as he stepped into the makeshift room. "I've brought the new recruits."

"Nice to meet you," Sotelo smiled at each person in turn as if he were seeing them for the first time. "I'm Reverend Manuel Luis Sotelo, and I hope you will be happy here."

Oliver stared dumbfounded at the man.

John coughed pointedly.

Oliver blinked.

"If you would introduce yourselves," John sighed.

"I'm Madoka Mori!" Madoka quickly held out a hand for Sotelo to shake. He ignored her. "I'm a nurse."

"Ayako Matsuzaki, also a nurse." Ayako gave him a tight-lipped smile.

Sotelo quirked an eyebrow and turned to John.

"You brought me two nurses?"

Instinctively, Ayako reached out and grabbed Madoka's hand. She was prepared for the worst.

"I thought," John laughed nervously. "We could use two."

Sotelo's face settled back into a severe frown. "We could use _one._ "

"I'll go," Ayako dropped Madoka's hand. "Madoka's better than I am anyways." She glanced at Madoka, daring her to say anything different.

Sotelo nodded and sent Ayako away with a wave of his hand. John followed so that he could take her to Adam and the others.

"Adam is supposed to take people back here for supplies," He ushered Ayako into a small office space in the of the store that had been turned into a makeshift storage area. "I believe it's right to give everyone a fair chance."

"By taking all of the skilled people for yourself and letting a couple college kids and an old man fight for their lives alone?"

John gave her a tight-lipped smile. "I do the best I can to help people."

"You'd really like to believe that, wouldn't you?"

As soon as she said this, Ayako felt bad. John seemed genuinely sweet, even if he was caught up in the wrong crowd, it seemed that he really wanted to be helpful.

"That's weird." John stopped and looked around the room. They had walked all the way to the end of the hallway and had not seen Adam in any of the former offices. "He should still be in here."

"John!"

Ayako turned to see a short, young girl with blonde hair that reached almost to her knees. She was dressed modestly in a long jean skirt and a light pink sweatshirt.

"John," she repeated. "Adam has already left with the other dregs. You'll have to go catch him."

Ayako cringed at the word 'dregs'. That is what she and her rescuers had become. The undrinkable teaspoon of liquid at the bottom of a poorly blended latte.

John smiled.

"Thank you, Olivia."

She nodded to him politely and took her leave.

"Right," John laughed as if any of this were funny. "I suppose we can catch him if we go out the back door."

Ayako rolled her eyes.

"Does he escort the 'dregs' away? Why not just let them go?"

"Not sure," John shrugged. "It's all Adam's deal. We all have specific jobs and that's what keeps us alive. I do my job and I don't ask questions."

Ayako sensed that John did not want to talk on the subject any longer so she elected to keep quiet and follow. John led her out the back door into an alleyway behind the shopping center. This was the kind of place that would be creepy even before a zombie infestation.

Up ahead, they spotted Adam escorting the 'dregs' into another store via the back entrance.

"That's not right," John whispered.

Ayako was certain that this was not directed at her, so she said nothing in return.

"He's not supposed to…" Rather than finishing his thought, John broke out into a run towards Adam. Ayako reluctantly followed, quickly realizing or, rather, _feeling_ how long it had been since she had run. Before all this, Ayako went for a jog almost every morning before work. She hardly had that option when she was holed up in Madoka's house awaiting rescue.

"John?" Adam was startled when John and Ayako burst in the door after him. "What are you doing?"

"What are _you_ doing?" John was red in the face, from the running or from anger Ayako was not sure. "You're supposed to give them supplies and let them leave."

Adam gave a terrible grin and Ayako felt her skin crawl. There was something very clearly wrong with Adam.

"You don't really believe that, do you John?"

Ayako knew that John wanted to believe it. He wanted to believe that everyone was good and trustworthy. It was obvious that Adam was neither of these things.

"What do you do with them?" John's voice shook with anger. "I've sent away good people, Adam. What do you do with them?" Timid John was shouting now. Tears were forming in his eyes.

"I _get rid of them_ ," Adam said through gritted teeth. "That is the job Sotelo gave me." Adam smiled another sickly smile. "Getting rid of people is the gift that I was given, John. Wouldn't you hate to see a good gift from the Lord wasted?"

"Y-you're," John stammered. Tears were falling freely now as he came to face the fact that he had been freely sending people to their deaths. "You're wasting human life."

Adam laughed, "I'm wasting _dregs."_

Before John could reply, Yasuhara rose up behind Adam and knocked him clean out with the back of a chair.

"Dreg on that, bitch."

"Yasu!" Mai ran to Yasuhara's side, helping him set the chair safely back down on the ground. "What were you thinking?"

"You heard him, Mai! He was gonna kill us!"

Masako held a hand up as she stepped between them.

"Please, Mai. Calm down."

"Oh right I should just _calm down._ You didn't see what I saw, Masako, I know what this man is capable of!"

Ayako felt lightheaded as her mind made the connection. Adam must have been responsible for hurting the woman in the cafe.

"He's still breathing," She observed. "A blow to the head would have to be a lot stronger to kill him."

Yasuhara put his hands on his hips.

"Well I'm _sorry_ I haven't exactly been hitting the gym every week."

"I have a gun," John's voice was barely a whisper. "But I can't do it." He pulled a small handgun from his back pocket and held it out in front of him.

Without a second thought, Ayako took it. She thought of the woman in the cafe. She thought of how Adam must have laughed as he cut the woman's jaw. _Click._ She turned the safety off. Adam must have smirked as the woman's blood pooled at her feet. She took her shot.

Adam was dead.

* * *

 _ **I really don't want to even write an author's note to follow that.**_

 _ **I'm sorry for this?**_

 _ **thanks to Hannah (as always) for beta-ing (as well as Kel and Toa this story)**_

 _ **please rate and review!**_

 _ **Bee**_


	4. Chapter 4

Ayako's hands refused to stop shaking. The gun in her hands fell to the floor and rattled against the linoleum.

She had killed someone.

Ayako, of course, had seen death before. She worked at a hospital. Death was expected and sometimes even welcomed. She had never felt faint at the sight of blood before.

"Ayako!" Mai ran to Ayako's side and held her swaying form steady.

Someone said, "He deserved to die."

Another - or maybe it was the same - voice said, "He was a terrible person."

Ayako found that she could not quite distinguish the voices. Maybe they were just in her own head. Everything was blending together.

She had killed someone.

"Ayako," Mai shook Ayako, somewhat forcefully, by the arm. "Are you alright?"

What came after was a blur. John and Yasuhara spoke about what to do next. Mai told the others about the woman in the cafe. At some point, Vianney found a chair and helped Ayako sit down.

"Just breathe," he told her. He took a coin from his pocket and showed her. "Focus on this."

She did as he said, watching him flip the coin quickly between his fingers. Ayako's eyes followed the coin closely.

"You did the right thing," Vianney assured her. He made the coin disappear and found it again in his other hand. "Just stay calm."

Slowly, the world started to become clear again. Ayako continued to focus on breathing. She pushed thoughts of the woman in the cafe aside. She thought of rain and flowers and of listening to Madoka tell stories in the dark.

She was alive.

Eventually, John and Yasuhara stopped talking. They had a plan to get back to the others and get away.

Mai took Ayako's hand and helped her stand.

"Come on," her bright smile was obvious overcompensation, but Ayako appreciated it anyways. "John is going to get the others. We're going to go somewhere else and wait for Madoka."

Ayako managed a nod. She would walk away from the dead body of the man that deserved to die. She would stop feeling guilty. She would wait for Madoka.

X~X~X

When Ayako awoke, it was dark outside. She was curled up between Mai and Masako on the floor of a women's clothing shop, a sheer scarf had been awkwardly draped over her arms and chest in place of a blanket.

At her feet, Yasuhara was sitting on a fitting room ottoman, watching the front doors.

Carefully, so as not to wake Mai and Masako, Ayako stood and went to join Yasuhara.

"Hey," he greeted her with a winning smile. "You alright?"

Ayako shrugged, taking a seat as Yasuhara scooted to make room for her.

"Been better," she sighed. "You look like a boyfriend waiting for a girl to finish shopping."

Yasuhara chuckled, "Well I'm gay so I don't think my partner would be shopping here..."

"Oh!" Ayako surprised herself with a laugh. "Me too."

Yasuhara looked at her over the top of his glasses frames.

"You and Madoka?"

"That obvious?"

Yasuhara laughed again, nudging Ayako with his shoulder.

"Painfully so." He had a way of making everyone feel like his best friend in the whole world.

"God," Ayako buried her face in her hands. For the first time since the beginning of the invasion, she was thankful for her lack of makeup. She could rub her face as much as she wanted without fear of smudging. "I just wanted to go on a date with a hot girl."

"Don't we all?"

"You're gay."

"Shush, I'm making a joke," Yasuhara nudged her again and, for some reason, Ayako did not mind. "I'm being _relatable._ "

"Relatable my ass."

"I take it you're feeling better," a formerly sleeping Masako remarked from behind Ayako and Yasuhara. "Could you be quiet now?"

"Classic, Masako," Yasuhara laughed. "Only caring about her beauty sleep."

"Not my fault I'm the most beautiful one here, Yasu."

Mai mumbled, "Seconded. Masako is the prettiest." Though Ayako was almost certain Mai was still sleeping.

Masako giggled as Mai reached out and sleepily patted her on the head.

" _Sleeeeep_ ," Mai rasped.

Ayako lowered her voice to a whisper.

"Did you three all go to school together?"

Yasuhara nodded, "Mai and Masako were roommates and Mai and I used to work together in the school's coffee shop. I got to know Masako by association."

Ayako smiled as she imagined Yasuhara and Mai clean and in matching aprons, making drinks instead of fighting for survival.

"Masako and I even dated for a while, if you can believe that."

"I can," Ayako thought of all the guys she dated in high school and college before she realized that she was interested in only women. "I dated the captain of the football team in high school."

"Yikes."

"We were _both_ gay."

"Double yikes."

Ayako shrugged.

"I went to his wedding last year, his husband is super cute."

"God I wish that were me," Yasuhara heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Now that all of the eligible men in my life are brain-dead zombies, literally, I'm sure I have no choice of finding love."

"Oh come off it, I'm sure you can find _someone._ There has to be a guy around that's gay _and alive_."

Yasuhara looked skeptical.

"Have you ever seen a queer character live to the end of a horror movie?"

Ayako could not even think of a single horror movie featuring an LGBTQ+ character. She shook her head slowly.

"Exactly."

"But we're alive!" She laughed. "So we are obviously living outside of the realm of mainstream media. I'm sure you can find yourself some post-apocalyptic ass."

"Maybe so."

Ayako stifled a yawn. She should probably try to go back to sleep again.

"You should get some rest."

"You're right," Ayako stood. "It was nice talking to you, Yasuhara."

"You too," Yasuhara gave her another winning smile. "Goodnight."

X~X~X

That morning, Ayako awoke to find that John had been back and had brought them water and protein bars.

"Morning, Sunshine," Masako laughed, tossing her a bottle of water. "Sleep well?"

Mai nudged Masako in the ribs.

"Ow," Masako complained. "Sorry. God."

"What Masako was _trying_ to say," Mai flashed a careful smile. "Is that we are happy that you got some rest."

Masako nodded in agreement.

"Exactly what I meant."

"We have good news," Yasuhara grinned like the cat that ate the canary. "John has a plan."

Ayako raised her eyebrow in question.

"Oliver _hates_ Sotelo. It's only a matter of time before they get themselves kicked out."

"What about," Ayako gulped. "What about Adam?"

"John covered our tracks. He said that we convinced Adam to go with us. Apparently no one is allowed to even talk about him anymore, so there's no questions."

"So what's this plan that John has?"

"It's a really stupid plan," Masako interrupted. "Like, really stupid."

"Masako…" Yasuhara whined. "It's not that stupid."

Mai laughed, "It's pretty stupid."

"Stupid enough to _work_ ," Yasuhara decided. "We're going to attract Echos to the shopping center and cause a distraction."

Ayako blinked. Was Yasuhara an idiot?

"I know what you're thinking!" Yasuhara hed his hands up in surrender. "And I'm not an idiot! It was mostly Vianney's idea."

"Don't pin this on me, son," Vianney chuckled. "I only said that we needed a distraction."

"Exactly!"

"I did _not_ say," Vianney rolled his eyes. "That we should attract them Echo things here. You take credit for your _own_ actions, boy."

"Fine," Yasuhara crossed his arms defensively. "I'll take credit when my crazy idea works."

He then went on to explain the plan in its entirety to Ayako. He said that he noticed a music store on the other end of the shopping center. They would go there and bring back as much sound equipment as they could. Then they would make as much noise as possible and hope for the best.

"There's a big hospital just up the highway," Yasuhara explained. "I think that there should be enough Echos there from the infection spreading that they will be able to hear us."

Ayako cringed at the mention of a hospital. She suddenly wondered how many people had been infected at the hospital where she and Ayako had worked.

"What if they don't come?" she wondered aloud.

"Then we're still a hell of a distraction," Yasuhara laughed. "We'll have to make do."

"Unfortunately none of us can think of a better idea," Masako frowned.

A loud knock on the store's glass door startled Ayako. She turned to see John, though he looked much less put together than when they had first met. He was panting like he had run from the other store. His blonde curls were mussed and his nice shirt was untucked.

Yasuhara rose from the floor to let John in.

"What's the story, man?"

John wrung his hands.

"If we don't hurry, Sotelo's going to have your friends killed."

"What?" Ayako turned to look John in the face. "Why?"

"Oliver punched him in the face," John explained. "He's been put in isolation as punishment."

"Oliver punched him?" Mai was incredulous. "You're kidding."

John shook his head. "He was protecting the girl."

Ayako jumped to her feet.

"Madoka?"

Nervously, John nodded. "Sotelo, um, asked her to come to his room last night."

Ayako huffed as she realized what John was insinuating.

"That _motherfucker,_ " she hissed.

Mai asked, "Did she go?"

"No!" John tried to accentuate this fact. "He was so mad at Oliver that he forgot all about her."

Ayako made a mental note to thank Oliver as soon as she saw him again. And she hoped that she would see them again soon.

"Oh!" John pulled something from his pocket and held it out to Mai. "Monk asked me to give this to you."

Mai smiled as she took it.

"It's his lucky bolo tie," she laughed, placing it around her neck. "Maybe it will bring us luck."

Ayako laughed, "I sure hope so."

X~X~X

"I've never been in a store like this before," Mai looked wide-eyed upon the fancy sound recording equipment for sale.

"You're lucky," Ayako scoffed. "I dated a musician once. I don't recommend it."

Yasuhara laughed, "I second that. Musicians are the worst."

"What do you mean?" Mai asked, an innocent look on her face.

"Because the vast majority of musicians have a pride problem," Yasuhara explained.

"And the rest of them are too broke to be prideful." Ayako shook her head disgustedly. "The whole 'starving artist' thing is only hot for a few weeks."

"What about Monk? He seems like a nice guy…"

Ayako considered for a moment.

"A rare exception."

"What is it we're looking for exactly?" Masako crossed her arms as she studied a speaker display.

"Equipment with which to make noise," Yasuhara said, as if that cleared anything up.

"So the whole store?" Ayako joked.

Yasuhara replied with a straight face. "As much of it as we can carry."

Together, Ayako, Mai, Masako, Yasuhara, and Vianney carried a drum kit, a trombone, an electric bass, and several sets of speakers and microphones back to their store front. Using a generator that John had supplied them, they set the equipment up.

They looked like the silliest band to have ever been formed.

"I'm excited to play," Vianney was smiling as he used a soft cloth to clean the mouthpiece of the trombone he had taken. "I thought I'd never get to make music again."

"A magician and a musician!" Yasuhara patted Vianney hard on the back. "A true performer!"

"You know it!" Vianney gave a hearty laugh. "My buddies and I used to play in a little jazz band. Ooohh! We were _hot!_ "

"I'm sorry we won't be able to keep up," Yasuhara plugged in another microphone and placed it on a stand. "I'm sure we're no match for a real jazz band."

Vianney chuckled again, shaking his head at Yasuhara.

"I'm sure you'll do fine, son. All we gotta do is make noise."

"Right," Yasuhara flipped a switch on a speaker to make sure the indicator light came on. "I think we're all set."

"Could I play just a little bit?" Vianney asked. "Alone?"

"Sure." Yasuhara positioned a microphone in front of where the older man was standing. "Just tell us when to join in. On your signal, we make as much noise as we can, then we book it. John's going to gather the others and meet us at a donut shop a few blocks down."

Mai tugged on the bolo tie around her neck.

"Here's hoping everything goes to plan."

Vianney nodded in agreement and brought the trombone to his lips. He began to play an upbeat solo, swinging his hips as he played. He only played a short piece, but Ayako could tell that he had had a lot of practice.

When he finished, Yasuhara clapped. "Jean Vianney, everyone!"

Then there was chaos.

Masako coolly strummed the electric bass, though she had no idea what she was doing. Vianney happily played his trombone, and Mai, Yasuhara, and Ayako completely wrecked the drum kit.

Ayako wished she had thought to steal a set of earplugs. The noise was incredibly overwhelming. Surely, anyone — or thing — within a mile radius could hear them.

After a minute of excruciatingly loud noise, Yasuhara motioned for them to stop and grabbed the pack of supplies John had smuggled to him.

"Let's fucking _skedaddle."_

And skedaddle they did. They did not wait to see if their plan had worked, though as they got further away, they could hear the sounds of gunfire in the distance.

Ayako hoped that Madoka was alright. She could not stand the uncertainty of this plan but, as Masako said, they had no other option.

Once they were a little ways away from the shopping center, Yasuhara slowed their pace. He passed Ayako the gun that had killed Adam.

"Why are you giving this to me?" she asked, though she still took the thing in her shaking hands.

"You're older than us, and you've used it once."

Ayako nodded, feeling resolve in the fact that she was most well-equipped to protect the people with her. Why else had she wanted to become a doctor if not to save lives? She would do her job here and protect the others.

"Just shoot if you see an Echo," Yasuhara told her. "I have a gun too."

"Do you know how far we are from the donut shop?"

A frown crossed Yasuhara's face for a moment.

"It shouldn't be far."

They had seen nothing, so far, but empty buildings.

It reminded Ayako of a show she had seen on TV once where historians and artists worked together to predict how metropolitan areas in modern day would look after the apocalypse.

No one could have imagined this.

At every corner, she expected other living people. How many times before this had she been at a crowded grocery store or mall and brushed arms with someone she had never spoken to? There was something desperate about the world lacking people to fill it, lacking strangers for Ayako to brush past.

"Yasu!" Mai hissed, holding her arm out to grab Yasuhara's shoulder. "Up there."

Ayako's eyes followed where Mai was pointing. Just past a cluster of abandoned cars, there seemed to be three bodies milling about. Their clothes were covered in dust and their hair was gone in patches. It seemed that they had not yet noticed the presence of others.

Yasuhara, not wanting to make noise to attract the Echos, shrugged exaggeratedly and pointed.

The donut shop that would be their meeting place was not far from where the three Echos stood, but was inaccessible without walking right past the things. Three Echos would not be hard to take down, but there could be more.

Ayako looked at Yasuhara, trying to ask him what he wanted to do.

He shrugged again, then raised his gun, creeping forward against the side of a building.

She followed him and did the same. Behind them, Masako and Mai joined hands in an effort to remain calm and still. Vianney stood in front of the two girls as if he was ready to protect them if things went badly.

Ayako held her breath as she tried to make everything silent. She hoped that the Echos would not be able to hear the blood pumping past her ears and the persistent hammering of the heart in her chest.

Yasuhara turned back and gave Ayako a look, he held up three fingers and aimed his gun. He pointed to himself, then to two of the Echos. He motioned for Ayako to take the other.

Ayako aimed her gun at the Echo Yasuhara indicated, counted to three, and shot. She was expecting to hear Yasuhara's gunfire along with hers, but there was nothing but silence.

"Shit," Yasuhara muttered, slapping the barrel of his gun with the back of his hand.

There was no use in staying silent now, the Echo that Ayako had hit fell, but the other two were now very aware of the two uninfected humans aiming weapons at them.

Ayako quickly shot at another Echo but missed, just grazing its arm. They were already moving quite quickly towards her. She jumped as she heard another shot and a yelp of pain.

The Echo was still moving, clearly it had not been hit. Yasuhara, though, had accidentally aimed his gun down when the trigger finally came unstuck. He had, literally, shot himself in the foot.

"Yasu!" Mai yelped. Ayako shot her a look and she froze, clamping a hand over her mouth. But it was too late. The third Echo had already noticed her.

It moved, a quick, shambling mess of gory limbs, rounding Ayako completely and heading directly towards the sound of Mai's voice.

"Shit!" Ayako cursed. Her gun was out of ammunition.

Yasuhara's gun should be functioning again, but Yasuhara himself was standing on a bloodied foot.

Ayako winced as she watched Yasuhara shift his weight. She knew that his brain was probably pumping so much adrenaline into his system that he would not be able to properly feel his injured foot for the moment.

Behind her, Ayako heard the shuffling of feet as Vianney moved to protect the two girls.

Yasuhara shot at the advancing Echo, missing again.

It stopped, turning to grimace in the direction of the misfired bullet.

Yasuhara fired again, this time hitting the Echo right between it's milky white eyes.

"Oh thank god," Ayako muttered to herself as she watched the creature fall.

With all three Echos gone, they were safe for the time being.

* * *

hello! I hope you enjoyed(?) this chapter, I cried editing it?

thank you to Hannah, Toa, and Kel for beta reading

please, please rate and review! I love all comments!

Love,  
Bee


	5. Chapter 5

"Come on!" Ayako hooked an arm around Yasuhara's back, supporting the weight on the side of his injured foot. He was beginning to look pale and struggled to stay upright.

With Vianney supporting Yasuhara from the other side, the three followed Mai and Masako forward.

"Yasuhara, are you okay?"

"No," Yasuhara replied in a weak voice. "I got shot in the fucking foot."

"You shot yourself in the fucking foot," Ayako grumbled. "Just tell us where we're going."

"It's not far," Yasuhara nodded his head towards a row of commercial buildings ahead of them. "We're going to the pink building."

Just as he said, there was a stout building constructed of pink painted brick. A cute cartoon donut with arms and legs waved them to the still locked glass door.

Using the butt end of her gun in her fist, Ayako punched a hole in the glass storefront and opened the door. Besides a small cut on her palm, she did this quite smoothly.

She looped an arm back around Yasuhara and escorted him through the front door.

"Oh thank god," Yasuhara panted, sliding to the ground as soon as the glass door was closed behind them.

Ayako took in the neat rows of diner seating in the shop. The place looked almost like it was still in business. Only a thin layer of dust over the linoleum gave any hint to what had happened to the world outside of Beebop's Donut Shop.

"Vianney," Ayako examined the rifle in her hand. She had two bullets left before she would need to reload. That is, if they even had spare bullets. "Could you stay here with Yasuhara?"

Vianney nodded, leaning against the wall to catch his breath.

"I'm going to check around the kitchen. Would you girls come with me?"

Mai and Masako were still holding hands and ashen faced. Nevertheless, Mai nodded bravely and pulled Masako forward.

"I wish I had my bow," Mai lamented. "Or _something_. I feel so vulnerable."

Masako gave a sardonic laugh, "That's because we are vulnerable."

"Shh…" Ayako held up a hand as she slowly opened a swinging door that she assumed led into the kitchen.

The industrial steel countertops were wiped down. The coffee machines were empty and switched off.

Together, the three girls searched the kitchen and pantry. They found no one alive or dead. Save for a few rodents and maggots, the girls were alone.

Neither Ayako or Masako braved the walk-in cooler. Mai took a quick peek and reported to them that it was full of spoiled milk, eggs, and batter.

"Nothing still good?"

Mai wiped her hands on her pants, as if they were dirty from being near the spoiled food.

"I don't think so."

Of the dry goods in the pantry, most of the bags of flour had holes in them where mice had chewed through the paper. There were plastic bins of sugar, sprinkles, and candy that looked like they may still be safe.

"Nothing with any actual nutritional value," Masako observed.

"But also no dead people," Mai shivered. "So I'll take it."

"Seconded," Ayako pulled the pantry door closed again. She grabbed an apron hanging from a hook on the door and a few folded rags from a bin on the floor.

Mai knit her eyebrows.

"What are those for?"

"Yasuhara's foot. Speaking of - Mai, were there maggots in the cooler?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Cool." Ayako gathered the cloth in a bundle in front of her chest with one hand. The other hand grasped her rifle by the middle of the barrel. She pulled the kitchen door open with her foot and held it open for Mai and Masako to return to the main dining area.

"Yasuhara?"

"He fainted a second ago," Vianney was holding Yasuhara's head upright against the wall. "Adrenaline wore off."

"Here," Ayako propped the rifle against the wall and threw the rags to the floor. With Vianney's help, she moved Yasuhara's body so that he was laying down on the floor and propped his head up with the apron rolled to resemble a cushion.

"I'm going to have to clean his foot so it won't get infected."

"Can I do anything to help?" Mai asked.

"We need to find where they keep the cleaning supplies. Hopefully they'll have something mild enough for skin…"

"I think I saw a shelf of bleach and stuff under the sink," Mai was already on her way back to the kitchen.

Ayako set to work taking off Yasuhara's shoe. For the most part, his dirty socks were keeping blood from getting out of the wound.

"Masako," Ayako began pulling the sock down as gently as possible. "Could you bring one of the tablecloths over here?"

Masako nodded as she up off the floor and went to the nearest table. She gently picked up a vase of plastic flowers and took the tablecloth from underneath before replacing it.

The plastic cloth made a crinkling sound that cut through the silence.

"Reckon the others should make it here soon," Vianney looked out the window with a tense expression. "If they make it at all."

Ayako frowned, it didn't help her concentration being reminded of the fact that Madoka was in danger.

"Okay so," Mai came waddling out of the kitchen with an armful of various cleaning supplies. "I found some stuff."

She dropped to her knees and set the things on the floor next to Ayako.

"This says 'windows' and it smells like vinegar so I think it's vinegar and water," Mai pointed to a half-full spray bottle. "And there's bleach and I found some plastic gloves."

Ayako looked down at her hands, covered in blood and dirt.

"Thank you, Mai."

She mixed a small amount of the bleach with the vinegar solution in the spray bottle and shook it. It would burn like hell but it would have to do.

The bullet had entered the foot just under his pinky toe and left through the bottom of Yasuhara's shoe. The skin around the wound was completely seared, just as Ayako had suspected it would be. She would need to remove most of the skin in order for Yasuhara to heal.

"Any sign of them?" Ayako looked up to see that Vianney was staring intently through the glass door, searching for a sign of the rest of the group.

"Nothin'," Vianney sighed. "I'm worried for Noll."

He smiled a sad smile.

"Oliver and his brother were two of the brightest boys I knew."

Ayako had no idea that Oliver had a brother, but she did not interrupt. She knew that talking about the past was therapeutic for some people. Personally, she was not a fan of nostalgia. Life moved on, she tried to let things go as they came.

"Noll was the first kid to ever figure out one of my tricks," Vianney continued. "You ever had a nine year old tear apart your entire profession?" He gave a hearty laugh. "Makes a man humble."

"You've known Oliver that long?" Mai asked, her eyes did not stop watching out the window.

Vianney nodded, rubbing sweat from his brow.

"All stories for another day, though," he made a face. "I think I see them."

Ayako shot up from the floor to look out the window, tracking the group's movement over the desolate cityscape before her.

She saw Oliver rounding a corner, John walking cautiously behind. They each carried a load of supplies on their back.

Ayako held her breath until she saw Madoka round the corner after them. She was so elated at the sight of messy pink hair that she did not notice that one of their crew was missing.

"Where's Monk?" Mai was grasping his tacky turquoise bolo tie around her neck.

Ayako cringed, thinking of how she had joked about Mai finally getting to return the trinket to its rightful owner. What if she never got the chance?

"I'm sure he's alright," Ayako was lying and she knew that Mai was not buying it.

She could see tears forming in Mai's eyes.

"Yeah," she sniffled. "I'm sure."

As soon as Oliver made it to Beebop's, Vianney moved aside the makeshift chair and table barricade and swung the locked door open.

"I think we're in the clear," Oliver panted, giving a tiny nod to Vianney's welcoming smile. "It was pretty close. We may have lost Monk."

Mai put on a brave face and indicated a place for supplies to go on the floor.

"I can't believe Yasu's stupid plan worked," John attempted a chuckle.

Ayako watched John's face fall as his gaze landed on Yasuhara lying unconscious against the wall.

"He's alright," she assured, crossing in front of John to get to Madoka at the door. "Just a little gunshot wound."

At that moment, Ayako caught Madoka's eyes and smiled wider than she knew was possible.

"Just a little gunshot wound?" Madoka raised an eyebrow.

Oh, how Ayako had missed that judgemental stare.

"I'm so glad you're okay."

* * *

 _ **hi hope you enjoyed this suffering**_

 _ **please rate and review i haven't written any more of this story in, like, a month and if ya'll bitches aint review idk if i'll have the will to go on writing this bullshit**_

 _ **(I'm kidding I'll update eventually but, like, please review please)**_

 _ **Love,**_

 _ **Bee**_


	6. Chapter 6

"What do you mean we may have lost Monk?" Mai reached for Oliver's arm, her voice was barely a whisper.

"I looked back and he wasn't there. I don't think he made it out of the shopping center."

Mai's eyes brimmed with tears, causing Oliver to frown. After a moment of contemplation, he pulled her into a stiff hug and stood stock still as she wept into the sleeve of his t-shirt.

Ayako turned her attention back to Madoka, who was now examining Yasuhara's foot.

"What the hell happened?"

"He shot himself in the foot."

Madoka crouched to get a closer look.

"It could have been a lot worse, I guess," She squinted at the bloodied foot. "Could he walk?"

"Not really," Ayako rubbed her temples. "But I don't think he hit anything major, it should heal as long as we get rid of the dead skin."

"You think you'll be able to cut and clean all of it?"

Ayako shook her head.

"Remember that medical history seminar we took with Dr. McElroy? The one on wound healing before modern medicine?"

"Vaguely."

"Well, she mentioned that people used to use maggots to clean wounds under dressing so that they would clean and heal themselves. It's only practised occasionally now but…"

"That sounds _awful_."

"I can't imagine we'll be able to give the wound proper attention otherwise. _And_ I already found the maggots."

"Great."

Ayako pressed the spray bottle full of a dubious mixture of cleaning solutions into Madoka's hands.

"Try to clean as much as you can with this, I wouldn't use any of the drinking water if you can help it."

Madoka nodded, taking the bottle. Ayako also tossed her a pair of gloves and a checkered tablecloth.

Ayako managed a wry smile. "I'm gonna go harvest some maggots."

An uneasy feeling filled Ayako's stomach as she pushed through the door to the kitchen. She'd studied corpses in med school, and seen pictures and heard about things like maggot therapy, she'd even watched a surgery similar to the one she was about to perform.

Nothing could prepare one for the discomfort she felt taking this chance to save Yasuhara's foot.

If the situation were not so dire, she might feel easier, but if Yasuhara were immobilized in this environment, he may as well be dead.

If he could no longer run, death would catch him one way or another.

Ayako perished the thought.

 _This should be easy_ , she attempted to console herself. This should be a simple wound to treat. She would not even have to remove the bullet.

Screwing up her nerve, Ayako tied a large washcloth over her mouth and nose, tucking her hair in out of her face.

She pulled the walk-in cooler door open and the stench immediately caused her to gag, even with the washcloth blocking some of the smell.

Lastly she slipped on a pair of thin rubber gloves that she had tucked in her back pocket from the kitchen.

They wouldn't prevent her from feeling the squish of the maggots as she picked them up, but at least they'd keep her from coming in direct skin contact with the slimy - but hopefully helpful - creatures.

Ayako tried to ignore the smell as she pried open a container of fruity greek yogurt and came face to face with her new medical assistants.

"Jesus Christ," she coughed. The smell was fucking brutal.

She gingerly scooped a handful of of the bugs, writhing in the fruity gunk, and shook them off of her hand into a mesh sifter from the kitchen. Once she was satisfied with the white mess stirring before her, Ayako resealed the yogurt and left the dreaded cooler.

With one bottle of clean water, she carefully rinsed the maggots so that they would be a little cleaner. Now, she was ready for surgery.

"Dokes," Ayako pushed through into the main lobby of the shop, carrying a mesh sifter full of writhing maggots and a whole box of disposable gloves. "Is the wound clean?"

Madoka nodded, wiping her brow on the back of her sleeve.

"Just a little blood, skin's mostly dead."

"I have just the fix for that," Ayako shook the container of maggots. "These little guys should eat all of the dead skin and promote healing. We just need to put them on the wound and wrap it up."

"Do you really think that will work?"

"I sure hope so," Ayako managed a wry smile. "It seemed to work well enough in the olden days."

"Yeah, along with bloodletting and lobotomy," Madoka muttered under her breath.

"Any better ideas?"

Madoka shook her head.

"Let's just deal with the maggots as quickly as possible." She put on a clean pair of gloves and prepared to wrap the wound as soon as Ayako had carefully placed the maggots.

Soon, the deed was done. The wound looked like it was simply cleaned and dressed, no sign of flesh eating larvae.

Ayako and Madoka wordlessly cleaned the area around Yasuhara before covering him with another cotton tablecloth and joining the others where they were sitting in a semi-circle by the door.

"How is he?" Oliver asked before anyone else had the chance.

"Fine," Ayako shrugged. "He'll probably need painkillers when he wakes up, but he should recover."

"We have limited medical supplies," Madoka frowned, glancing at the supplies from Sotelo's compound gathered in the corner. "He may have to deal."

"We'll see how much he can tolerate, over-the-counter stuff shouldn't be too hard to come by. We can definitely spare some."

"We need to come up with a plan," Oliver interrupted Ayako's train of thought. "We can't just hide here forever."

"Well, we have to at least wait until Yasuhara's foot is healed enough that he can walk," Ayako put her hands on her hips, her hands instictively reached for the pockets of her short, white med student jacket, which she was now without. "Unless you have any other ideas."

"And we have to wait in case Monk turns up!" Mai pointed out.

Oliver cringed, making Ayako wonder how likely he was to come back alive.

"We didn't see what happened to him," John must have read Oliver's expression as well. "So I don't think Mai's entirely foolish to think he could still be alive."

Defeated, Oliver resigned himself to waiting. Ayako could see his point, it was safer to be on the move.

"Alright, we'll see how long we can stick it out, then."

X~X~X

Days passed by Beebop's Donut Shop just as slowly as they had passed at Madoka's house. Ayako and Madoka took turns checking up on Yasuhara's foot and making sure it was healing properly. Mai, Masako, and John helped organize and catalogue all of their supplies, and Oliver and Vianney chatted quietly at a dining table, drawing lines and arrows on wrinkled paper maps.

All seven of them slept in shifts and took turns keeping watch during the day.

Before the end of the world, Ayako always looked forward to her residency years as a doctor. She always said that could not wait to be initiated into the medical world with weeks of no sleep and constant stress. Just a few years, and the hard work would all be worth it.

Waiting for danger in an abandoned donut shop was a little like what she imagined residency would feel like. She got to play doctor, she looked at Masako's injured arm and organized medicine and cleaned Yasuhara's wound. She slept very little and drowned in constant stress.

Unlike a residency in a hospital, however, all of her hard work now went nowhere. It was after the end of the world. Nothing mattered.

* * *

 _ **hi okay this chapter is super short but i wanted to update bc i've been super unmotivated lately okay thanks bye**_

 _ **rate/review to maybe get an actual update in the future!**_

 _ **bee**_


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